Verily I say unto you, that all sins shall be forgiven to the sons of men, and all the injurious speeches [with] which they may speak injuriously;
The scribes who came down from Jerusalem had just said that Jesus cast out demons by the prince of demons. His answer opens with a sweeping promise of pardon, followed by one terrible exception — and everything turns on what that exception is.
The accusation was not honest confusion. One writer traces it to what the scribes stood to lose if they admitted the obvious.
The enemy filled and guided them. They knew well that this was no case of a madman, but of a real power which cast out demons. Their malice put this down to Satan, as they tried to explain away, weaken, and defame what they could not deny. They admitted the power that dealt with Satan, in mercy to man. But if they owned it came from God, their religious importance, their work, and their income were gone.
The Lord answered them in two stages. First He showed how senseless the charge was. Then He warned them of the danger to themselves.
He called them to Him and showed them two things. First, how absurd their charge was, using plain and forceful figures of speech (Mark 3:23-27). Second, how wicked their charge was, and how dangerous it was to themselves (Mark 3:28-30).
The verse promises pardon for blasphemies, yet one blasphemy stands outside it. The difference lies not in the words, but in who they insult.
In Holy Scripture, blasphemy sometimes means evil speech against man. It also means evil speaking against or about God... How serious the sin is depends on the dignity of the person slandered or blasphemed. Human laws fully recognise this same difference.
The Lord treated the insult as aimed past Himself at another Person altogether:
The Lord speaks here as the anointed Servant of Jehovah. He shows that He took the abuse of the scribes as aimed not so much at Himself as at the Holy Spirit, by whom He worked His miracles... Only here the sin was greater. Those who sat in Moses' seat, in stubborn and bitter unbelief, called the Holy Spirit an unclean spirit.
The promise of pardon for "all sins" and "whatever blasphemies" is not a figure of speech. One writer points to the man who proves it — the one who had once forced others to speak against Christ.
The Lord declared: "all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter" (Mark 3:28). We have a wonderful example of this in Paul the Apostle. Before his conversion he was a blasphemer himself. He also forced others to blaspheme, under threat of severe punishment (Acts 26:11). Yet he was forgiven.
Mark does not leave the excepted sin undefined. He tells us what these men said.
The course these men had taken would put the salvation of their souls at risk and leave them in danger of eternal sin. To make clear what the Lord meant by blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, Mark, and he alone, explains it: "Because they said, He has an unclean spirit" (3:28-30). Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit means attributing the power of the Spirit to evil agency. Many a person with a troubled conscience has been distressed, thinking he has committed that sin. A simple look at Mark 3:30 should at once set such a person at rest.
Anxious readers often blur two different things. Scripture, one writer insists, does not.
Nowhere do we read that sin against the Holy Spirit is not forgiven. If it were, who could be saved? Is not all sin against Him, since the Holy Spirit is God? And all sin is against God; and God forgives all manner of sins and iniquities. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the only exception.
The same writer speaks to the reader who fears the worst about himself:
Those wicked men saw the work of the Holy Spirit with their own eyes, and yet, in their blindness and wickedness, ascribed it to Satan... But did you ever see the Lord cast out demons, and say of Him, "He has an unclean spirit"? ... How can you have committed the unpardonable sin? Impossible! It is simply Satan's lie to make you miserable and keep you so.
- Cause — The scribes could not deny Christ's power, so they credited it to Satan. Admitting it came from God would have cost them their standing and their income.
- Gift — "All sins" and "whatever blasphemies" — a sweeping promise of pardon, spoken to the very men who were slandering Him.
- Reach — Paul blasphemed and forced others to blaspheme, yet he was forgiven. The promise is proved, not theoretical.
- Limit — The excepted sin is defined by Mark alone in verse 30: calling the Holy Spirit an unclean spirit. How serious the sin is depends on the dignity of the One insulted.
- Rest — Sinning against the Spirit is not the same as blaspheming Him. All sin is against God, and God forgives all manner of sin; the fear of having crossed the line is itself the enemy's lie.
but whosoever shall speak injuriously against the Holy Spirit, to eternity has no forgiveness; but lies under the guilt of an everlasting sin;
The scribes had watched Jesus drive out demons, then said He did it by Satan's power. This warning answers that charge and raises three questions: what the sin is, why it is never forgiven, and whether you could commit it today.
The sin is not left vague. The very next verse reports what these men had said about Jesus.
Mark alone explains what the Lord meant by blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. He adds: "Because they said, He has an unclean spirit." Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit means crediting the power of the Spirit to an evil source. Many a person with an over-anxious conscience has been troubled, thinking he has committed that sin. A simple reference to Mark 3:30 should at once set such a one at rest.
The wording matters. There is a real difference between the phrase people use and the phrase the Lord used.
What the Lord denounces is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Keeping that clearly in view would save many souls a great deal of needless trouble. How many have groaned in terror through fear of being guilty of sin against the Holy Spirit! That phrase leaves room for vague ideas and loose reasoning about what it means. But our Lord spoke of one clear thing: blasphemy against Him, the sin that cannot be forgiven... What is this evil that is never forgiven? It is crediting the power that worked in Jesus to the devil... It is the final stage of rebellion against God.
Why is there no pardon here? Look at the heart behind the charge, and at who forgiveness is for.
It means crediting to Satan the power of God that the Holy Spirit was using then and afterward. It shows a deep, settled hatred of God. Souls that give themselves up to such malice against the worker of all good are beyond pardon. Forgiveness is for those who repent and believe the gospel.
The evidence was not hidden from these men. They saw it and turned it against Him anyway.
The strongest possible evidence of the power of the Holy Spirit stood before their eyes in the words and works of Jesus. But they refused to accept that the evidence was valid. In their malice they went further: they credited this power for good to Satan. For this wilful blindness and hardness of heart there was no forgiveness.
The closing words of the verse describe the sinner as much as the sentence.
This last phrase is found only in Mark. The expression carries deep meaning. In a single word it teaches the unchangeable character of the unforgiven. Such rebellion against the authority and love of God has an unholy character that is fixed forever. The one who repents is forgiven, but the guilt of the one who will not repent is eternal. And eternal sin implies eternal punishment.
Soften the word "eternal" here, and you weaken it everywhere else.
If "guilty of an eternal sin" does not mean endless misery, then the "eternal life" of Mark 10:30 cannot mean endless joy.
Commentators differ here. Some tie the sin to the miracles Christ did on earth. They conclude that no one can commit it now.
But notice that this particular form of blasphemy belonged only to the time when our Lord was on earth. People had to see His works, and see His power over Satan plainly in the miracle, before wickedness and hatred could reach that height. No one could commit the sin against the Holy Spirit now.
Others keep the warning open for today.
People have asked whether this sin can be committed today, since Christ is not here doing His great works of power. But if someone today dared to take the same attitude toward the works of the Lord, and despise God's clear witness, is he not inviting the same judgment warned of here?
On one point the writers agree. The fear itself counts as evidence in the frightened person's favour.
So we can say with confidence: no one who feels the guilt of sin, and no one who longs to be reconciled to God through the blood of Christ, has committed "blasphemy against the Holy Spirit." In fact, these very feelings of guilt over sin, and this longing for peace with God, are the effects of His own work in the soul. They are the sure proof that such a person has not committed this "blasphemy."
- Defined — Mark 3:30 names the sin for us: calling the Holy Spirit an unclean spirit, crediting God's power to Satan.
- Deliberate — the scribes saw the power at work, refused the evidence, and credited it to Satan; that malice closed the door.
- Distinct — Scripture says blasphemy against the Spirit, not the vague "sin against" the Spirit that torments so many.
- Durable — "eternal sin" marks the fixed condition of the unrepentant; weaken the word and you weaken "eternal life" with it.
- Distant from you — forgiveness is for all who repent and believe; the fear of crossing this line proves you have not.
-- because they said, He has an unclean spirit.
Mark ends this exchange with a short note of his own, telling us why Jesus spoke of a sin that is never forgiven. That one line names the words that provoked the warning and fixes the meaning of "blasphemy against the Holy Spirit."
The other Gospels record the warning; Mark adds the reason behind it. That single explanatory line settles what the sin is — and settles the fear of many who wonder whether they have committed it.
Mark alone makes clear what the Lord meant by blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. He explains it: "for they were saying, 'He has an unclean spirit'" (3:28-30). Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit means crediting the power of the Spirit to an evil source. So many people with a troubled conscience have feared they have committed that sin. A simple look at Mark 3:30 should set such a person at rest at once.
Jesus had been freeing people from demons. The power at work in Him was the Holy Spirit, so the charge the scribes made rebounded onto the Spirit Himself.
The Lord shows that their charge was not just foolish ignorance. It was deliberate blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Here was One stronger than the strong man, taking the strong man's goods from him. That showed He had bound the strong man. The Lord Jesus used all this power in the power of the Holy Spirit (compare Acts 10:38). So to credit His power to the devil was to call the Holy Spirit a demon.
Why was there no pardon for such men?
The strongest evidence of the power of the Holy Spirit stood before their eyes in the words and works of Jesus. But they denied that this evidence was valid. Going further in their malice, they credited this power for good to the energy of Satan. For this wilful blindness and hardness of heart there was no pardon.
Verse 29 ends by calling this sin eternal. Writers give that one word great weight.
This last phrase appears only in Mark, and it carries deep meaning. In one word it teaches that the character of the unforgiven never changes. Such rebellion against the authority and love of God is unholy, and it is fixed forever. God forgives the penitent, but the guilt of the unrepentant is eternal.
One writer ties this sin to conditions that no longer exist.
Notice that this particular form of blasphemy belonged only to the time when our Lord was on earth. People had to see His works, and see His power over Satan in the miracle, before wickedness and hatred could reach such a height. No one could commit the sin against the Holy Spirit now.
The people most afraid of this sin are the ones least likely to have committed it.
Did you ever see the Lord cast out demons, and say of Him, "He has an unclean spirit"? You would never accept the thought that He worked miracles by the power of Satan. You would never say that the Holy Spirit was Beelzebub, the prince of the demons. Again we ask you, then, how can you have committed the unpardonable sin? Impossible! It is simply Satan's lie to make and keep you miserable.
The distress itself points the other way.
So we can say with confidence: no one under conviction of sin has committed "blasphemy against the Holy Spirit." Neither has anyone who longs to be reconciled to God through the blood of Christ. Indeed, that conviction of sin and that desire for peace with God are the effects of His own work in the soul. They are sure proof that no such "blasphemy" has taken place.
- Defined — Mark explains the unforgivable sin himself. It is calling the Holy Spirit's work the work of an unclean spirit.
- Deliberate — His accusers were not confused. The evidence of the Spirit's power stood in front of them, and they credited it to Satan anyway.
- Directed — Jesus cast out demons in the power of the Spirit. So the insult aimed at Him landed on the Spirit. To call His power satanic was to call the Holy Spirit a demon.
- Durable — Mark alone calls the guilt eternal. God forgives the penitent, but the condition of the unrepentant never changes.
- Distant — This sin belonged to the days when people watched Christ work miracles. A conscience troubled about it proves the Spirit is at work, not that you have blasphemed Him.